‘Lifting youngsters out of poverty should be high precedence for subsequent authorities’

Rising and deepening child poverty is a stain on the soul of our country and scars the nation’s conscience, as Gordon Brown argues powerfully in today’s Daily Mirror.

Labour’s last Prime Minister is a passionate man of action and his call for practical answers is a challenge to the party’s likely next Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who will inherit this crisis along with many others from the Tories. Labour’s manifesto states it is “committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty”.

That is a noble cause and, as Mr Brown asserts, must include the two-child rule, Bedroom Tax, benefits cap, housing benefit limit and loan deductions. The £1billion children’s fund proposed by Mr Brown and others would be a start. NHS founder Nye Bevan defined the religion of socialism as the language of priorities. Lifting kids out of poverty must come top.

Le Pen-ic

French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call earlier elections is backfiring, putting the fascistic, anti-migrant far right on the brink of power.

The humiliation of Macron matters less than the future of France and the rest of Europe, including Britain, when nationalist Marine Le Pen’s extreme National Rally is unlikely to stop the migrants it dearly wishes to be rid of from boarding small boats to cross the Channel.

It is in all our interests that France’s left and centrist parties unite to cobble together a slate of candidates to halt the march of the far right in next Sunday’s second round runoffs.

Clear as a Bell

Pupils at Jude Bellingham’s old school in the West Midlands sang “Hey Jude” and showed the power of a local and national hero to inspire the young.

Football often fails to be the beautiful game, but it is always the people’s game and Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions give England fans great pleasure… as well as sleepless nights.